UE - Folding plate prices


Product Discussion


In my copy of Ultimate Equipment the price of folding plate is given as 12,650 and the cost as 7,650.
This does not seem right.
I would expect the price to be the base price plus the cost of a masterwork suit of full plate - 1650gp. Thus the base price would be 11,000gp
But then the cost should be half the base price plus the cost of the armour - 5,500 + 1,650 = 7,250 gp not 7,650gp.

Is the cost or the price wrong or have I misunderstood something?


5500 + 1650 is actually 7150.

You are correct on the price in the book seeming... off, though. Maybe they didn't discount the +1 of the plate either?


Equestrian Plate seems to have a similar issue.

I am considering crafting folding plate so was calxulating the base cost to work out the time required.

It's not a big issue, just slightly confusing.


Can someone explain to me why Folding Plate is priced so low. According to Magic Item Creation Rules the price should be over 100k before taking into account the material cost:

Spell Effect -> Base Price
Command Word -> spell lvl (7) x caster lvl of spell (13) x 1,800 gp = 163,800 gp

Then there's the other factors:

Spell has material component cost. Add directly into price of item *per charge*.
Material cost; sapphire worth 1,000 gp
<If item is continuous or 'unlimited', not charged, determine cost as if it had 100 charges>
1,000 x 100 = 100,000 gp + 163,800 gp = 263,800 gp

Cost of armor it summons
Full plate armour price; 1,500 gp, +1 enhancement; 1,000 gp = 2,500 gp
(includes mstrwrk cost)
263,800 gp + 2,500 gp = 266,300 gp

Have I made a huge mistake in my understanding of how magic item creation works? Or has Paizo ignored their own rules to give players cool gear at lower prices?


Folding plate does not duplicate a spell. As such, the pricing formulas that deal with spell level do not apply. The instant summons spell requirement is nothing more than fluff. Something of a similar theme to the item.

It is the same way that a flaming weapon requires either fireball, flame strike, or flame blade to create. None of those spells have the same effect as a flaming weapon. They are just somewhat thematically similar (all deal with fire).


Thank you for clarifying that, I was starting to go crazy reading and re-reading the magic item creations rules lol.

Is there a set of rules and/or pricing formulas to merely mimic a spell effect to a lesser extent?
One thing I would like to make is a magical Lightsaber mimicking the Flameblade spell :P


Saiyagamitar wrote:

Thank you for clarifying that, I was starting to go crazy reading and re-reading the magic item creations rules lol.

I thiink you might have missed this line:

Otherwise, use the guidelines summarized on Table: Estimating Magic Item Gold Piece Values.

They are not definitve rules, only guidelines. They work for standard items, but require judgement for not standard ones.


Well, the pricing for Folding Plate is pretty far from the "guidelines" and it has a much better effect as the spell is single use but the item can be used as many times as you want.
This is why I was so confused by it.

I also looked at Lenses of Darkness; 12,000 gp.
According to the "guidelines" they should actually be 20,000 gp. An 8k difference is already pretty big but acceptable, however the Folding Plate difference is absolutely massive.

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